Pingzhao Zhang

Interplay between MDM2, MDMX, Pirh2 and COP1: the negative regulators of p53

MDM2, Pirh2 and COP1 are important E3 ubiquitin ligases, which directly interact with p53 and target p53 for proteasome-mediated degradation. MDMX, the MDM2 homologous protein, inhibits p53-mediated transcription activity. The interplay between MDM2, MDMX, Pirh2 and COP1 has not been reported, except the interaction between MDM2 and MDMX. Here, we reported that there were interactions between these four proteins independently of p53. The protein levels of MDM2, MDMX, Pirh2 and COP1 changed when any two of them were co-transfected. Our data also showed that the integrity of MDM2 RING finger domain was crucial for its ability to elevate the protein levels of COP1 and Pirh2. Any two of these four proteins could inhibit p53-mediated transcriptional activity synergistically. Furthermore, COP1 inhibited MDM2 self-ubiquitination and interfered with MDMX ubiquitination by MDM2. Our results suggest that MDM2, MDMX, Pirh2 and COP1 might inhibit p53 activity synergistically in vivo.

Mouse phosphoglycerate mutase M and B isozymes: cDNA cloning, enzyme activity assay and mapping.

Two mouse cDNAs encoding the non-muscle-specific or brain isoform (type B, Pgam1) and the muscle-specific isoform (type M, Pgam2) of phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM) were isolated and characterized. Pgam1 contains a 765 bp open reading frame (ORF) coding for a 254-residue protein while Pgam2 contains a 762 bp ORF coding for a 253-residue protein. The deduced proteins of mouse Pgam1 and Pgam2 are highly similar to those of human and rat (> or = 93% similarity). Northern blot analysis showed that the expression patterns of Pgam1 and Pgam2 were distinct. Pgam1 was expressed as a 2.1-kb transcript highly in brain and kidney and moderately in liver, thyroid, stomach and heart, whereas Pgam2 was expressed as a 1.0-kb transcript highly in muscle, testis and moderately in heart and lung, but was not detectable in the other six tissues examined. Transfecting the cDNA fragments containing the entire ORFs of these two cDNAs into COS7 cells for transient expression, respectively, the enzyme activities of mouse Pgam1 and Pgam2 were detected to be 2.2-2.5 times of those of COS7 cells and COS7 cells transfected with vector, proving the validity of mouse Pgam1 and Pgam2 cDNAs we report here. Pgam1 and Pgam2 were assigned to 116.16 cR from D19Mit52 and 29.57 cR from D11Mit129, respectively, by radiation hybrid method. The partial genomic sequence of Pgam2 was determined, which showed that mouse Pgam2 consisted at least three exons and two introns. In addition, a pseudogene of Pgam1, Pgam1-ps1, was identified from mouse genomic sequence.

YY1 is a novel potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HPV infection-induced cervical cancer by arsenic trioxide.

Objective: YY1 is a zinc finger transcription factor involved in the regulation of cell growth, development, and differentiation. Although YY1 can regulate human papillomavirus-type (HPV) viral oncogenes E6 and E7, it remains unknown if YY1 plays a key role in carcinoma progression of HPV-infected cells. Here we sought to determine whether YY1 is upregulated in the cervical cancer tissues and YY1 inhibition contributes to apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, which is at least partly p53 dependent. Therefore, YY1 can be a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer treatment by arsenic trioxide (As2O3). Materials and Methods: The expression level of YY1 was examined and analyzed by Western blot in pathologically confirmed primary cervical cancer samples, in the adjacent normal samples, as well as in normal cervix samples. The effects of YY1 inhibition by specific small interfering RNA in HeLa cells were determined by Western blot analysis of p53 level, cell growth curve, colony formation assay, and apoptosis. The contribution of YY1 to As2O3-induced p53 activation and apoptosis was also examined by Western blot and cell cycle analysis. Results: Here we report that the expression level of YY1 is significantly elevated in the primary cancer tissues. In HPV-positive HeLa cells, small interfering RNA-mediated YY1 inhibition induced apoptosis and increased the expression of p53. Treatment of HeLa cells with As2O3, a known anti-cervical cancer agent, reduced both protein and mRNA levels of YY1 in HeLa cells. YY1 knockdown significantly further enhanced As2O3-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that the expression of YY1 is upregulated in cervical carcinomas and that YY1 plays a critical role in the progression of HPV-positive cervical cancer. In addition, YY1 inhibition induces p53 activation and apoptosis in HPV-infected HeLa cells. Thus, YY1 is an As2O3 target and could serve as a potential drug sensitizer for anti-cervical cancer therapy.

Human neuronal calcium sensor-1 shows the highest expression level in cerebral cortex

Neuronal calcium sensors (NCS) are important constituents in the intracellular signaling pathways. A novel human gene, NCS-1, was identified in the present study. Among the 16 human tissues examined, NCS-1 is expressed most abundantly in the brain. Among the brain regions, the expression level of NCS-1 in cerebral cortex is the highest, which is about six times higher than the average level of the whole brain and a hundred times higher than the spinal cord. In the 12 different anatomical regions of human brain, the expression level of NCS-1 is very high in the temporal lobe, occipital pole, frontal lobe, thalamus, amygdala and hippocampus; moderate in cerebellum, putamen, caudate nucleus; low in the medulla, substantia nigra and the lowest in corpus callosum. Our results suggest that NCS-1 in human brain might be involved in a variety of brain functions such as sensory processing, motor control, emotional control, learning and memory.

Identification of human CDV-1R and mouse Cdv-1R, two novel proteins with putative signal peptides, especially highly expressed in testis and increased with the male sex maturation.

Human systemic carnitine deficiency (SCD) is a hereditary disease caused by the mutation of OCTN2 and has the characteristics of cardiac hypertrophy. Previous studies based on JVS mouse, an animal model of this disease, showed that Cdv-1 was highly expressed in ventricles of normal mouse, but was remarkably down-regulated in JVS mouse and can be up-regulated to normal level by breeding carnitine, which suggested Cdv-1 was possibly involved in cardiac hypertrophy caused by carnitine deficiency. In this study, the expression of human CDV-1, a homolog of mouse Cdv-1, was undetectable in heart by northern hybridization. The inconsistent expression levels of human CDV-1 and mouse Cdv-1 in heart implied that cardiac hypertrophy in human SCD might not be associated with the abnormal expression of CDV-1. Interestingly, another long transcripts of the gene, Cdv-1R/CDV-1R, were cloned in the present study, in mouse and human, respectively. This long transcript predominantly expressed in both human and mouse testis and its expression level was increased with testis development. Furthermore, we proved that the open reading frame of Cdv-1R/CDV-1R spans the exons 2∼19 instead of exons 9∼19; and the peptide encoded by CDV-1R was composed of 676 amino acids containing a putative signal peptide instead of 414 amino acids described previously. In addition, it was proved that the expression level of Cdv-1R in JVS mouse testis was as high as that in normal mouse testis, and both were not regulated by carnitine.